Damn Academy chapter 208

208 – Host (5)

When I gave a hand signal saying it was okay to come out, the art club members in the carriage slowly came out.

I continued to ask questions because my questions were not yet resolved.

“Just breaking the wheel would have been enough. “Why did that guy Gale attack?”

Hubert pointed to Cecil and spoke in an emotional tone.

“Exactly, they weren’t targeting us, they were targeting that half-elf woman, and our instrumental music club got caught up in it.”

Cecile also responded angrily.

“Yes, I should have just done a moderate amount of sabotage, but you ended up like this because you poured fuel on your ass with jokes like what are the bathrooms in the North and what is Zion like?”

“Yes, I wouldn’t be able to go home anyway, I would be stranded in a remote area, and it was the same as getting chased by monsters or being killed by Gale.”

“You don’t even have legs? If the wheel breaks, will you die? Ah, you are a race with short legs, so if you don’t have wheels, you won’t be able to go very far and you will die.”

“Do you think this is short? As you can see, it’s long and long.”

“The cowardice characteristic of the short-legged race remains the same.”

“Oh, I know you’re upset because you got dumped by a guy, but it’s not your fault, so why don’t you take your anger out on someone else?”

Cecile’s face grew increasingly angry.

“You were not brought here to conduct research like me, but to fight if a conflict arises. Know? “If you haven’t done your job properly, why don’t you just shut up?”

“I understand why your blood relatives were driven out by the elves. “I’m sure it’s because his personality is as dirty as that of a hunting dog.”

“You’re a coward who can’t even act as a hunting dog. “For a dog that can’t hunt, boiling it to death is not enough.”

“I fought. “It’s just that we were outnumbered.”

Damian and other members of the art club watched in a daze as the two fiercely bitten each other.

Sierra looked at them and added a word.

“… “If you see things with smooth faces, they fight to the death and end up making eye contact.”

Tami, a colleague from the art department, also added a word of help.

“Uhm, well. “Elves and dwarves cannot breed.”

“What?”

“The only species that can combine those two is humans. “It’s from the book ‘Reproduction of Species.'”

“Ah… okay?”

“Hybrids between elves and dwarves are born with serious deformities. “Hating each other is close to an instinct passed down from our ancestors.”

The fight between Cecil and Hubert showed no signs of abating, so I intervened.

“If you’re going to block the road and keep doing that, get out of the way. “We will go our way.”

Cecil cleared her throat and answered me politely.

“Hmm, first of all, I’d like to apologize for suddenly blocking the road. “We had no other choice.”

It feels strange to talk to Cecile here. I believed that I had broken up with Cecil, but now I see that wasn’t really the case. Especially when I saw him injured, I felt a strong sense of pity for him.

“What do you want?”

“Please provide supplies needed for treatment. We have all been plundered and are broke. And… “Please let us accompany you to the nearby village.”

Then, Lilith quietly came next to me. She then opened her eyes and looked at Cecil. She said:

“Then what do we get?”

“Once the mission is completed, you will be sufficiently compensated. “Because there is so much money that it could rot.”

“It’s the same here. As you know, the value of our supplies has gone up even more. Since supply is difficult here, it is more rare. “We will have to pay back more than we gave.”

Cecil bites her lip as if she is on medication. Lilith crossed her arms and maintained her impassive demeanor. Her mood was so strange that I wondered if the two of them had ever fought. When Lilith was with me, she often fell and acted foolishly… When she stood in front of others, she turned into a sharp and strict woman.

Hubert intervened.

“I would really appreciate your help, but your resources will soon plummet in value, right? When the mission begins in earnest, the Gaels will decide to plunder. “There are very few people who can survive there.”

Lilith immediately refuted.

“Do you really think that? “I assure you, what we have prepared is second to none.”

“Oh, I guess so. How many people in the art department can properly fight? That bastard, Gale, made up his mind and formed a cavalry unit. “There are a lot more people.”

Then he looks at us with his eyes. This is a warning that cannot be ignored. There is no guarantee that we will not encounter a group of Gales either. You won’t be hit hard, but if a collision occurs, bleeding is inevitable.

It’s best just not to meet. Our purpose is not to fight, but to complete the mission.

Cecil made a suggestion.

“Why not combine us both? If we combine, we won’t be outgunned. And I know Gale’s movements. If you help us, I’ll teach you how to avoid conflict with Gale.”

Lilith frowned at Cecil and turned her head towards me. It was a matter for me, as the leader, to decide.

From Noble mtl dot com

It’s not a bad suggestion. However, as the number of people increases, the feet eventually become heavier and material consumption doubles. It was a matter of making a choice considering the pros and cons.

“Okay. However, if we want to disband, we must accept it whenever and wherever.”

***

As agreed, we treated the injured instrumental music club members and set out on our way together.

The members of the instrumental music club abandoned the carriage they had come in and organized the remaining materials such as tents and blankets.

The four members of the instrumental music group rode the remaining horses, and the remaining two leaders rode in our carriage.

Cecil, who was sitting in our carriage, unfolded the map and explained.

“I heard them speaking Northern. “I guess they thought you wouldn’t understand, but that was their mistake.”

Then he pointed to a place with his finger. It was a place written as Luden Village.

“You guys must have obtained information about the mission location and are well aware of it. The incident occurred in Luden, Marvas, and Quill. These are the three places. They skipped Luden Village and headed straight to Marvas Village. Those who go to Marbas Village will probably encounter a group of Gaels and be looted.”

“Why did you skip Luden Village?”

“I don’t know that. The only thing special about it is… “The defenses are strong and there are a lot of blacksmiths?”

“Um….”

“Geographically, it is not a good place to live, so it may be rich in mineral veins. It seems to be a place that makes a living through metal processing and trade. “You won’t know what’s wrong here until you go.”

“Hmm.”

“But we can definitely avoid the Gale group. We can regroup and try to counterattack.”

The counterattack was closer to Cecil’s personal greed. The choice I would take right now was the safe route.

“Then let’s head to Luden Village.”

***

Around early evening, we reached our first destination, Luden Village.

“That…” “A village?”

All of us, including the instrumental music club members, were embarrassed when we saw Luden Village.

The village was surrounded by a semicircular wall on the front, with its back to a steep gorge. For a village on the outskirts, it was large in scale and the construction technology was quite sophisticated. It was closer to a fortress than a village.

All those entering and exiting the gate were traders pulling carts. When the cart left the gate, it was loaded with sharp weapons.

We parked the carriage near the castle and held a meeting.

Tammy and Cecil from the Department of Magic presented an analysis of Luden Village.

“I asked a passing merchant and he said that most of them were blacksmiths and that the village was hostile to outsiders. Moreover, there have been several incidents recently, and it seems that outsiders have become more repulsive.”

Hubert shouted excitedly.

“Why are you doing this? Instead of doing this, you can go and talk confidently, right? “We came here to investigate the truth about the disappearance, not to steal, right?”

The members of the art department, including the members of the instrumental music department, agreed with Hubert’s words.

“Wouldn’t it be enough to say that we are an investigation team from Eternia?”

“If you even mention our family names in turns, they’ll be shocked and upset.”

Everyone was optimistic that it would be an easy entry, but I found it difficult to agree.

After struggling with an unsolved case, I sent a request to a big city like Rigbed, but the only person who came was a rookie with a young face. There was no way it would be accepted kindly.

It is a remote village with no country or lord, so there is no way it would be friendly to nobles.

“Okay then, let’s go.”

While everyone was crowding around and trying to move, Fabella and I stood still.

Hubert looked at us and said sarcastically.

“Why are you standing like that?”

“Don’t you need someone to guard the carriage?”

“What are you two doing behind the scenes? “Do you want to be left behind?”

“Why don’t you go first?”

Hugh Burt was dissatisfied with my attitude and led his men toward the gate.

And my predictions were surprisingly correct.

“The more I think about it, the angrier I get. “Why haven’t you guys ever called me?”

After a while, those who had confidently walked towards the gate returned with faces as if they had been severely insulted.

Cecil and Lilith’s faces were particularly red.

“If you want to work as a prostitute, I’ll let you in…” ?”

“You bastards….”

The problem I had expected was revealed. We are too young and cute to be entrusted with something as important as a mysterious disappearance case. It is very different from the harsh life where people pound metal with over 1,000 degrees of strength to survive every day.

As they were struggling in their humiliation, a thought occurred to me. I asked Fabela, who did not show her face to the gatekeeper.

“Senior Favela.”

“Yes… ?”

“Can you help me?”

“…Which one is it?”

“It’s a little messy.”

Fabella hesitated for a moment, but eventually she agreed.

“…I’ll give it a try if it doesn’t hurt.”

I gave orders to my subordinates and moved.

“Everyone is waiting in the carriage.”

Immediately, I picked up the pieces of clothing discarded nearby using a wagon. There were many pieces of clothing left behind by travelers and merchants in the castle walls. He picked up one set of women’s clothes and one set of men’s clothes, shook them off, and handed them to Fabella.

“Put it on.”

“This… Thing?”

“I will wear it too.”

A question appeared on her face for a moment, and then she suddenly nodded, as if she had figured out my plan.

“Okay.”

We hurriedly finished changing clothes and faced each other again. It was nothing short of complete crap. The clothes smelled of dust and mold.

Cecil and other club members looked at my antics with suspicion.

I rolled up the cloth and handed it to Fabella.

“Put this in the boat and secure it well.”

“Yes.”

After fixing it as I instructed, her belly popped out like a child giving birth. Offered her hand to Pavela.

“Hold my hand and waddle.”

“Yes.”

Like an immigrant, I moved with a bundle of luggage on my back. In that state, we knocked on the gate.

Soon the gatekeeper opened his eye sockets and looked at us closely.

“We do not accept refugees. Go back.”

I spoke in a desperate tone.

“Well, I came here to look for work. “Monsters have torn our home to pieces, so we have nowhere to return.”

A moment of silence.

“Where did you come from?”

“The place I originally lived was Barbisia. Even though we lost our home to monsters, the bastards in the principality didn’t even treat us like citizens. “Where can a lowly citizen go who has no country, no king, no lord, and all he has is his dexterity?”

“By the way, doesn’t the tinkerer even bring any tools?”

A skilled craftsman will carry his tools around as if they were his own children. When he pointed out that part, I immediately held out my palm.

“I lost it while fighting some kind of rat-like monster on the way. Well, wouldn’t this be the most important tool for tinkerers?”

Minor burn marks, calluses, and slightly twisted finger joints. It is a mark that only someone who has done a bit of hammering can have. After coming to Eternia, it became a little lighter, but it didn’t completely disappear.

“It seems like it’s been a while since I installed the extension.”

“As you can see, my wife’s stomach is full… “For a while, I worked as a handyman, moving from place to place as needed.”

Fabella clutched her pregnant belly and said something she wasn’t told to do.

“Honey… Because it’s good… “Can’t we just rest for a little while?”

The way he holds up the boat with difficulty is quite skillful. As if I had practiced.

The gatekeeper’s eyes turn to me. He was staring at me like I was some bad guy.

Another moment of silence.

After a while, the sound of the lock being released was heard and the door slowly opened.

The gatekeeper quietly let us in with a wave of his hand and said.

“What’s your name?”

“I am Jan. My wife….”

“It’s a favela.”

“Yes, when dawn breaks, go to Old Man Dickens at the buckthorn house over there. “I heard there’s an urgent need for an assistant position.”

“Thank you. Thank you.”

I bowed my head and expressed my gratitude.

The doorkeeper clicks her tongue as she watches me leave.

“The young guy…Squeak. “Feed your wife a lot!”

The canyon had its back to the sun, so it got dark quickly. Earlier in the village, torches had been lit on the roads.

I spoke to the favela.

“Let’s go to the inn first.”

Fabella lowered her eyes with a pensive look on her face. She asked after seeing the drooping figure.

“Why are you doing that?”

“Nothing.”

“….”

“Isn’t it too easy to reveal your real name than that?”

“We’re leaving tomorrow, so you won’t even remember.”

“….”

“…Damian might have been better suited to the theater department.”

“Yes, luckily it worked out well.”

“It felt just… real.”

“….”

It wasn’t a very good method, but it achieved its goal.

I unclasped our hands, tightly clasped like a married couple.

The situation happened to be just right, and because of that, it was easy to get immersed in it.

This is something I imagine countless times when I can’t sleep.

If you hadn’t come to Eternia.

If only I had stayed at the Temple of Acates.

It was a future I might have faced.